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Win 16 Subysystem

AlSpencer

Posted 02 July 2011 - 09:40 AM

AlSpencer

New Member

Member

2 posts

Hi - This is my first post and the reason I've joined the site.I got the following error when while using my old "American Heritage Dictionary" application. The request to end the select 16 bit task has timed out. The 16 Subsystem may be unstable. Press OK to terminate the Win 16 Subsystem or Cancel to leave it running.My system specs:

I've been using this application since I purchased my system about 2 years ago without any problems.I live in Thailand and teach English as a Foreign Language off and on and this dictionary Pronounces the words, and has many other nice features even though its' over 13 years old. Its' great tool in the class room.Its' data files are located on a CD.

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happyrock

Posted 02 July 2011 - 12:10 PM

AlSpencer

Posted 06 July 2011 - 08:12 AM

AlSpencer

New Member

Topic Starter

Member

2 posts

Thanks for the reply. I thought about that. Then I thought maybe using the original CD rather than a copy might work so I put it in. Then rather than rebooting I visited antoher forum and someone mentioned just rebooting. So I rebooted and used the app without any problems. The next day I realized I'd made two changes: Original CD and a Reboot.

Then I rememberwd that I'd been making some changes to the apps "options" which I've never done since installing it on this box. It's a simple app. So I went in and made some more option changes with the original CD and it continued working. So I switched to the copied cd changed some options as I looked up different words. As I said it pronounces most words which is why its' nice for teaching Thais. Well after about 4 or 5 mintutes it locked up again. But this time with an exception in a DLL.

Enough I thought and I looked through the Application Errors in Event Viewer - nothing, however in the System Errors I found that the "The device, \Device\CdRom0, has a bad block.". But I couldn't find any error from the time I got the Win16 Subsystem error..

So this is just like my old days in IT when I developed Application software on Mainframes, Minis and finally PCs - (1978 though 2009) the majority of the time these system problems eluded me. I used to ask the System quys questions, show them my errors with a desription of what I did and then redid trying to repeat the error with detailed documentation and I usually got a smile and a chuckle followed by well Al did you do this, what was this setting and so forth and so on. I did get some results but I'd say only about 15 to 20 percent of the time. I learned when to surrender after about 4 or 5 years. The first 4 or 5 I'd work a lot of hours on my own time thinking I could solve any problem. Yea right.

Conclusion: if it happens again I'll grit my teeth and reboot. If it works, well that's just the way it goes.